Showbiz

Helen Flanagan makes candid body image confession and opens up about eating disorder in her teens as she shares throwback breastfeeding snap

Helen Flanagan makes candid body image confession and opens up about eating disorder in her teens as she shares throwback breastfeeding snap

Helen Flanagan had made a candid body image confession as she opened up about having an eating disorder as a teenager.  

The Coronation Street actress, 34, took to Instagram on Sunday to share a throwback snap of herself breastfeeding her son Charlie.

Helen revealed in October that she suffered from an eating disorder in her teenage years.

And now she has admitted she has only recently introduced bread and pasta back into her diet after two years of avoiding them. 

Helen shared that she felt she put weight on last month as she had been doing dry January, which in turn made her want to snack more. 

But she concluded the honest post with: ‘I don’t think as women we ever happy there’s always something to pick at but I suppose as you get older it’s a nice thing as you just become more comfortable in your skin.’

Helen Flanagan had made a candid body image confession as she opened up about having an eating disorder as a teenager

Helen Flanagan had made a candid body image confession as she opened up about having an eating disorder as a teenager

The Coronation Street actress, 34, took to Instagram on Sunday to share a throwback snap of herself breastfeeding her son Charlie

The Coronation Street actress, 34, took to Instagram on Sunday to share a throwback snap of herself breastfeeding her son Charlie

She captioned the snap: ‘I’ve put weight on this January, I’ve done dry January, I wanted to support my boyfriend with it so did it myself…. 

‘Then I realised my drinking habits probably weren’t the best myself… so cutting down on my drinking as made me just want to snack more but it’s fine x.’

‘I also re introduced bread and pasta this month which I’ve cut out for about 2 years….. my eating habits can be a bit weird (eating disorder from my teens) but I try with it x,’ she continued. 

‘I don’t think as women we ever happy there’s always something to pick at but I suppose as you get older it’s a nice thing as you just become more comfortable in your skin x.

‘I turn 35 this year, but as women I think it’s important to support each other, surgery or no surgery what ever makes you happy.’

Back in October, the actress revealed she had only just begun eating bread after suffering from an eating disorder since she was 16.

Speaking on The Mail’s The Life of Bryony podcast, she said: ‘When I was about 16, I am naturally slim, but I was obsessed with being seven stone.

‘I was around a lot of actresses and models and they were all doing the pH๏τo shoots. I just wanted to be like them. I hardly ate anything.’

Helen shared that she felt she put weight on last month as she had been doing dry January, which in turn made her want to snack more

Helen shared that she felt she put weight on last month as she had been doing dry January, which in turn made her want to snack more

The Life of Bryony: Helen Flanagan opened up about her relationship struggles in a very candid interview with best-selling author Bryony Gordon. Listen wherever you get your podcasts

The Life of Bryony: Helen Flanagan opened up about her relationship struggles in a very candid interview with best-selling author Bryony Gordon. Listen wherever you get your podcasts

The actress began her career on the nation's televisions at just ten years old where she starred as Rosie Webster on Coronation Street for twelve years

The actress began her career on the nation’s televisions at just ten years old where she starred as Rosie Webster on Coronation Street for twelve years

Helen said the school nurse as well as Coronation Street producers would call her mum up at the time.

‘I remember kind of like school nurse being involved and like Coronation Street,’ she said.

‘They would call my mum up, and she was like, “Helen, you’ll lose your job”. And I think it was just a sense of control.’

She said she now tries to eat healthily because of her daughter, but still struggles.

Listen Now PODCAST: Ever feel like life is a bit too much? Bestselling author and Mail Columnist Bryony Gordon will be delving into the messier parts of life. Listen to the brand new podcast series OUT NOW article image

‘I think if you have an eating disorder, it always stays with you,’ she said.

‘If I’m really honest, I think some of my eating habits probably aren’t the best, but I’m definitely healthy because I’m aware of my daughter.

‘So I think having Matilda for me is a really good, like, I need to be a good example because it, I would hate for her to have an eating disorder because it’s f*****g miserable. I’ve just started to eat bread again because I just wouldn’t touch it.

‘When I got into this thing where, like, me and my ex-fiancé split up, that I just suddenly was like, I’m not touching bread and I’m not touching pasta. I get these, like, weird little quirks that I do with my food.’

Her candid post comes after she was banned from driving for six months last month. 

Helen was handed the suspension at Wirral Magistrates’ Court, after her pleas the ban would cause her ‘exceptional hardship’ were dismissed.

Best known for her role as Rosie Webster in the ITV soap Corrie, Helen claimed her boyfriend Robbie Talbot was driving her £66,000 Audi Q7 when it was caught speeding twice in 17 days last June. 

However, she was charged with two counts of failing to give information relating to the identification of a driver.

Her candid post comes after she was banned from driving for six months last month

Her candid post comes after she was banned from driving for six months last month 

It comes as Helen claimed she can't afford the six-month ban because she is currently struggling financially and will not be able to afford expensive taxis to get her children to school

It comes as Helen claimed she can’t afford the six-month ban because she is currently struggling financially and will not be able to afford expensive taxis to get her children to school

After her court appearance, the mother-of-three took to her Instagram to reshare a post by podcast presenter Bryony Gordon. 

The post included a snap of a sunset beach landscape and featured the words ‘This too shall pᴀss but what the f***?’ 

Helen claimed she can’t afford the six-month ban because she is currently struggling financially and will not be able to afford expensive taxis to get her children to school.

However,  magistrates said they were not satisfied that a ban would cause Helen, who already had six points on her licence, exceptional hardship. 

They also ordered her to pay a £2,000 fine, £800 victim surcharge and £110 for prosecution costs.

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